DomainTools

I use quite a few tools from DomainTools. One of the tools I like best for prospecting is the Domain Search tool. This tool allows me to see all of the domain registrations in a specific keyword, making it easier to target prospective buyers who own domain names with a keyword similar to mine.

To give you an example, I own KitchenConsultant.com. I think other businesses with longer tail domain names might want to upgrade to KitchenConsultant.com. For instance, if someone owned BestKitchenConsultant.com or KitchenConsultantNYC.com, they might want to purchase the domain name my company owns. Searching “kitchenconsultant” will yield all of the registered domain names with that particular search term.

One thing I like to do when using this tool is to alter my keyword a bit to broaden the number of prospects. Instead of searching

One of the tools at DomainTools I have underutilized over the years is their Brand Monitor tool. This tool allows users to see what domain names are registered in various keywords they select. I recently started using this tool, and I want to share how I am using it.

I selected the keyword for one of my favorite domain names. Each morning, I receive an email from DomainTools that has a list of the newly created domain names that contain the selected keyword. I could also choose to have the deleted domain names sent to me as well, but that isn’t really necessary for my purposes.

The daily Brand Monitor email I receive is helpful for two reasons. First, it shows me the domain names that are registered that contain the keyword I am monitoring. This can help me stay aware of what new brands might be launching that use my keyword who may want to upgrade in the future. Second, I can do a Whois search on the registrations to see what companies are buying domain names with the keyword. This is helpful on names that get many inquiries because I can do more due diligence before replying. If monitoring a long keyword or multiple keyword term, it might produce a good list of

In an article published on October 6, ABC announced a name change for ABC Family. According to the article, “ABC Family changes its name to Freeform in January 2016! The network’s new name reflects our ongoing priority to super-serve Becomers, fans on that epic adventure of becoming an adult—from first kiss to first kid!”

When I read about the rebranding, I visited Freeform.com to see if ABC was using the exact match .com domain name. Yes, Freeform.com currently forwards to ABCFamily.Go.com, the ABC Family website. A current Whois lookup confirms that Freeform.com is registered to ABC, Inc.

With domain theft becoming a major issue these days, it is imperative that we are vigilant with respect to the status of our domain names. Obviously the easiest way is to monitor account alerts from our domain registrars, but if someone is able to access our accounts, I presume they could change the notifications or circumvent the process without us knowing that something was altered. If that happens, domain names could be transferred out or pushed to other accounts without us knowing about it.

One potential solution is to monitor your domain names via third party monitoring service like DomainTools or DomainIQ. Any time a change is detected, the third party service will send an email notification with the change that was made. If you know of other domain monitor services, be sure to let share it in the comment section.

I think the best way to monitor my domain names is to set up an alert for either the registrant name (business or personal name) and the email address used for domain name registrations. When the service detects a change for one of those fields, they will send an email noting the change. Once the monitor is created, you should receive an email every time something changes on one of your domain names, such as a transfer or change of ownership.

This evening, DomainTools sent an email to its members announcing “a major overhaul of the Whois results page.” I received the email just a few moments ago, and I haven’t had a chance to go through the changes yet. I use DomainTools many times a day, and I am sure this is going to take some time to get accustomed to the new website.

Because there are many people in the business who use DomainTools but may not have a membership, I am taking the liberty to share the email content with you so you can see what has changed. If you have any feedback for the DomainTools team, you are welcome to share it here or directly with the company.

I don’t hand register many domain names anymore. I tend to focus my time on finding great domain names that are coming up for auction and making inquiries on domain names that are privately owned.

When I am looking to buy domain names in a certain niche, I like to use DomainTools to do my Whois searches. It’s easy to see who owns a domain name, and the history tool allows me to see the provenance of the domain name. It’s especially valuable when a domain name is privately owned, and I can see an email address that was previously used.

On occasion, I will find an unregistered domain name that I expected to see registered. This is a score for me because if I was looking it up to buy privately, I would certainly value it at more than the registration fee. When a domain name is unregistered, this is the image that is shown on DomainTools. I love seeing this graphic because it usually means I can hand register a domain name I may have bought privately.

Seeing this graphic doesn’t always mean the domain name is available to register, but I’ve found that more often than not, it indicates an unregistered domain name. I love seeing this graphic, and I think it is probably my favorite domain graphic!

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